UPDATE: 2 dead, 2 wounded in 4 shootings since Sunday in Gary

GARY — A man was found shot to death after a crash early Thursday on the city's West Side, marking the city's 46th homicide of the year, officials said.

The shooting was one of two reported Thursday morning and the fourth since Sunday.

Gary police were dispatched about 12:15 a.m. Thursday to the area of West 15th Avenue and Porter Street for a crash with injuries, Lt. Dawn Westerfield said.

Officers and medics arrived and found a man with gunshot wounds, she said. Lake County coroner's investigators pronounced the man dead at the scene.

The man was shot in the 1500 block of Burr Street in Gary, which is several blocks west of the crash scene, according to a coroner's release.

The man has not yet been identified, pending notification of family. The death was ruled a homicide.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Cpl. James Bond, of the Lake County/Gary Metro Homicide Unit, at 219-755-3855.

About 5:40 a.m. Thursday, a 50-year-old Gary man was robbed and shot in the 300 block of Garfield Street, police said.

The 50-year-old told police he was walking to his vehicle when a man approached him and asked for money. The 50-year-old refused, and the man said, "Don't make me shoot you," Westerfield said.

The 50-year-old gave the man $5 from his pocket, and the man began patting down the 50-year-old. The 50-year-old noticed the man look away, attempted to tackle him and the two fell to the ground, police said.

The man broke free, stood up and fired several shots at the 50-year-old. The 50-year-old suffered a minor gunshot wound to the ear, police said.

On Monday, 68-year-old Gary resident Ronald Richardson was found shot to death inside his home in the 300 block of Taft Street, police said.

A relative called police after going to check on Richardson and finding him unresponsive. The relative last spoke with Richardson on Sunday, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Jeff Minchuk, of the homicide unit, at 219-755-3855.

On Sunday, a 43-year-old Gary man was wounded and a home was damaged during a shooting about 8:50 p.m. in the 1700 block of Martin Luther King Drive, police said.

The 43-year-old man told police he was walking to his vehicle when a man in a mask approached and began shooting at him. The 43-year-old returned fire and got in the vehicle, police said.

The man was shot in the leg, but was able to escape in the vehicle, police said. He flagged down an ambulance in the area of East 21st Avenue and Martin Luther King Drive.

Police later learned a home in the 1500 block of East 19th Avenue and a television inside the home had been damaged during the shootout, police said.

Anyone with information is asked to call Detective Sgt. Michael Barnes at 219-881-1210.

Thursday's homicide is the 46th in Gary so far this year, according to police and death records. That's the same number of homicides the city logged in all of 2016. Gary recorded 50 homicides in 2015.